Life line
by PipeDreaming
Summary: Joan finds out that Sherlock is just as important to her as she is to him. (Warning! I'm not so good at writing...sorry)


Having a usual rough day at work Joan just wanted to go home and have a nice cup a tea before going to bed. Sherlock had some finishing up to do at the station and said he would heading home shortly as well. Finally arriving at the brownstone she locked the front door behind her. Drowsily hanging her coat and dropping her keys on the table in the entryway. She decided to just call it a night.

As she entered her room she felt a shove from behind. Falling to the floor of her room the contents of her bag spilled all around her. A man dressed in black with a ski mask covering his identity stood in her door way. "Sherlock?" she asked because this wouldn't be the first time he pulled something like this. the man tilted his head. Okay not Sherlock, Joan scrambled to get upright. Placing her feet in a fighting stance she prepared for anything.

"What do you want?" the man didn't respond. Instead he knelt down to grab her phone and put it in his pocket. Quickly, with both hands stretched out, he rushed towards her. She was able to dodge his advances, but while taking the chance to dash for the door she felt that he had a hold of her hair, and with a sharp tug she was pulled into his body. Joan stomps on his foot with her high heel shoe, gaining a yelp of pain from the assailant. His grip loosened enough for her to reach up and hit him on the side of the face with her elbow. He stumbled back and she split for the exit once again. Before she reached the steps she heard shots, before she felt them. Her knees buckled under her weight. Reaching to her side she felt the warm liquid escaping from the wound. The man walked up to her and grabbed her ankle and started to drag her.

When he had pulled her back into the room he shut the door and pointed the gun to her head and shushed her. Just then her phone buzzed with a new text message. The man pulled it out and read it. Whatever it said the man seemed to be in a hurry now. He ransacked her room taking her phone, tablet, and some jewelry. Joan thought quickly and before he turned around she pretended to have succumb to her wounds, hoping he would think the job is done and no need to finish her off. It must've worked because he walked over her body and left the room. She waited till she heard him racing down the stairs. With the loss of a lot of blood, she tried to stand, but couldn't. Joan crawled her way to the top of the stairs. This was going to be hard but if she didn't try she would just bleed out anyway. She made her way down the steps grabbing the railing with both hands to hold her up and balance her out. As she got to the last step she couldn't keep up right anymore, she lowered her self to the ground and laid on her back. Trying to slow the bleeding down with her hands. Joan kept telling her self that Sherlock will be home soon its going to be alright, he'll be here soon. Fighting to keep her eyes open but failing. It felt like just dozing off but the end result is more permanent.

She jolted awake when she heard someone unlocking the front door. "Watson I've found something new! We must work fast.." he shouted as he was locking the door but when he turned around he saw Joan. His jaw dropped, racing to her side he had tripped half way having to crawl the rest of the way. "Watson!" he lifted and pulled her into his chest. "No no no." he kept repeating as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

"s-Sherlock...he took my phone...I tried..." she couldn't make out complete sentences as her body started to get heavier.

"Ssshh don't worry it's going to be fine." he was saying it more for himself than for her. She wanted to look him in the face to say goodbye, but his grip on her was tight and she couldn't find the strength to lift her head anymore. Her view of her legs smeared in blood started to get blurry and dark. Joan knew what was happening. Sherlock's frantic voice was distant now, and soon all senses faded to nothingness.

She opened her eyes, greeted by a unfamiliar brightness. Knowing where she was but couldn't remember how she got there. Joan always loved the view from atop the brownstone but something was off. When she looked up she noticed that the sky wasn't blue but completely white. Squinting into the horizon she could see the city slowly fading into whiteness as well. Panic struck as whole building seemed to be dissolving all around her. She ran to the door but once open it revealed complete blackness. Joan tried to scream but no sound, only a small buzzing sound reached her ears. Behind her was Sherlock's beekeeping box, but only held a single bee. When she opened the case the bee flew around and landed on her hand. Surprisingly with its touch her skin warmed. Its buzzing was rhythmic, not so much as a buzz anymore but a beeping. A muffled voice came from the darkness in the door way. She couldn't make out what it was saying but she knew exactly who it was. "Sherlock!" she thought. The bee she almost forgot about flew up and out of her hand, and headed towards the voice. By now the whole city was gone and just the roof remained. With a step the floor beneath her feet started to crumble away. She raced for the darkness, and with a stumble she fell threw the doorway.

"...I should've been there...why couldn't i have just left with you..."

"Please, just wake up..."

"Watson...Joan."

"Don't leave me now, not like this. Yell and scream at me and slam the door in my face but Joan please not like this..." she could hear Sherlock's words, feel his hands on her own, tight and shaking. With all her strength she forced her eyes open and with a flutter she could make out someone sitting next to her. When her eyes adjusted to the light she saw Sherlock holding her hand, head hanging down, eyes closed tightly as if praying to something he didn't believe in.

"I can't do this without you..."

She squeezed his hand making his gaze shoot up to her face. "Yes you can."

"Joan!" Sherlock jumped up and tried hugging her. With a groan from her he remembered that she had been shot and probably shouldn't be moved. So he leaned in and placed a long kiss on top of her head. With his fingers he brushed her hair back behind her ears. "Finally your awake." Noticing how intimate he was being he quickly brushed it off by joking "You should know better than to sleep in Watson, lots to do."

"Gezz thanks." she couldn't help but grin at his smiling face as he still held her hand in his.


End file.
